Experts Differ On Speeds In Crash That Killed Wiley

Accident reconstruction experts disagreed Wednesday on the speeds of cars in the crash that killed a young woman in November 1980.

Mary and John Wiley are seeking more than $1 million from Jonathan Mears, 29, who was convicted in 1982 of vehicular homicide and drunken driving in the death of their daughter, Alice, 20.

Wiley's death prompted her mother, Mary, to start the state's first chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The expert retained by the Wileys claimed Mears' car was traveling 78 mph and the car in which Wiley was riding was going 31 mph when the accident occurred at Orange Avenue and Sand Lake Road on Nov. 30, 1980.

The expert retained by Mears said both cars were going about 45 mph. The speed limit is 45 mph on both roads at that site.

They testified at during the third day of the wrongful death trial in Orange Circuit Court.

Joseph Wattleworth, professor of civil engineering at the University of Florida, said he based his conclusion that Mears was going 78 mph on tire skid marks. He said the first evidence of braking by Mears was 100 feet after the collision.

It is that 100-foot section that figures prominently in the calculations of the other expert, Kenneth Packer, president of Packer Engineering Association in Naperville, Ill.

Packer said that after the collision, the front left wheel on Mears' Camaro was forced back into the car, jamming the brake pedal and forcing the throttle wide-open.

Packer said the car gained speed after the accident and the damage made it difficult to press the brake pedal to the floor.

The reconstruction of the accident is complicated because after Mears' car hit the Volkswagen in which Wiley was riding, the Volkswagen spun around 1 1/2 times and hit the Mears vehicle at least one more time, according to accident reports.

The experts also disagreed about whether Wiley's injuries would have been less serious if she had been wearing a seat belt.

Wattleworth said seat belts are not designed for protection in collisions from the side and can cause severe injuries in such cases.

Packer said Wiley would not have been thrown from the car if she had been wearing a seat belt.

Mears' blood-alcohol level after the accident was 0.18, almost twice the legal limit of 0.10. Now a student at Valencia Community College, Mears was paroled in September after serving half of his 3 1/2-year sentence.